From June 8-11, 2014, the School of Systems and Enterprises (SSE) at Stevens, hosted the Council of Engineering Systems Universities (CESUN) Fourth International Engineering Systems Symposium, in Hoboken, NJ. Over the four-day learning and networking event, more than 180 technical professionals, academics and thought leaders from around the globe came together to share their vision and understanding on the research, development and application of technologies that tackle socio-technical systems.

Established in 2004, CESUN serves as an international platform to showcase innovative engineering education, research and practice.

As a leading member institution of CESUN, SSE is a prominent contributor to the latest advances in research, techniques and insights into the tools that work in the practice of engineering systems. Learn more about the systems engineering graduate program at SSE.

Bridging the Gap Between Complexity Sciences and Engineering Systems, Resilience of Socio-Technical Systems and Enterprises, and Dynamics of Innovation, Adaptation and Evolution of Complex Systems, were the three main theme tracks at the 2014 Symposium and the topics resonated very well with the community at large.

“The 2014 Symposium was distinctive as it was opened to a broader audience, said Dr. Babak Heydari, assistant professor at SSE and the lead organizer of the Symposium. The goal was to bring in thought leadership from other spaces and to get a wider perspective on systems related issues, and how these can be addressed by collaborating with different domain experts.”

Set against the backdrop of New York City, a prime illustration of urban resilience and a central theme track of the Symposium, the event was attended by an impressive array of minds from 16 countries, spanning different age groups.

“35% of the participants were Ph.D. students, a demographic which has never before been so actively involved with the CESUN," said Heydari.

A half-day Doctoral Consortium, comprising of interactive workshops and in-depth research discussions gave Ph.D. students valuable insights about their studies and an exceptional opportunity to form long-term working relationships with colleagues from around the world.

“Students represent the next generation of academic and technical leaders who are designing the techniques and tools required to address the challenges in the field. Their participation is a tremendous asset to the event,” Heydari said.

The five distinguished keynote speakers at the Symposium were, Dirk Herbling, chair of sociology, ETH Zürich, Ralph Nelson, vice president & COO, Watson Transformations, IBM, John Doyle, Jean-Lou Chameau professor of control and dynamical systems, Caltech, Carliss Baldwin William L. White professor of business administration, Harvard Business School and David Wolpert, professor, Santa Fe Institute.

The Symposium also featured six interactive panel discussions on a wide range of topics such as energy, infrastructure, aerospace, resilience and systemic risk. The discussions were in-depth and provided a showcase of knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, there were 48 presentations and 60 poster sessions, illustrating the extensive work in progress in areas of complex socio-technical systems, resilience and architecture.

The event concluded with a round table and an open discussion on the future of CESUN.

As Heydari summed up, “Continuing forward, the goal is to identify systemic challenges of future socio-technical systems and develop the required understanding and techniques to deal with these challenges."